Incredible Chocolate Pudding {Dairy, Egg and Gluten Free}

I wasn’t going to share this recipe because it calls for a specific ingredient that most of you may not have on hand and I kind of pride myself on {mostly} using everyday, non-crazy ingredients. But here’s why I changed my mind and posted it:

a) it is completely amazing – the creamiest pudding in the universe or close to it(*statistic not based on actual research).
b) for a decadent, rich chocolate pudding, the indulgence comes a little bit lightened up which is a lovely bonus.
c) if you haven’t tried dark chocolate almond milk, you must, you absolutely must.
d) it is dairy, egg and gluten-free and you know, I love giving shout out recipes to all of you who eat some kind of “free.”

To be clear, we don’t have food allergies in our home, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy some dark chocolate almond milk just like my dairy-free friends. A cup of this creamy nectar is balm to my soul. And so much better (in taste and calories) than the other plastic jug chocolate milk varieties. I’m not kidding – this is a staple in my fridge.

After a few months of loving this plain and simple, I decided the obvious next step would be to make chocolate pudding. Since I knew it would be dairy free, I decided to go for an egg-free version, too. I wish I could say it was because I love my egg-free friends just as much as my dairy-free friends, but really, it was because I was out of eggs. Can we pretend it’s because I’m altruistic and selfless? Thanks.

The result ends up being one of the tastiest chocolate puddings ever. Even though it’s lightened up a bit, it’s thick and creamy and completely luxurious. Try slicing a few bananas over the top. Oh, yum. You can see from the pictures that I also decided to toss a few chopped Toblerone pieces across the top too. Because…well…why not?

Update: So I couldn’t resist trying a non-peanut butter version today (2/22/14) for all of those who asked about omitting it. Here’s the result: the cooked and chilled pudding without the peanut butter was really good! It was definitely missing that element of creaminess the peanut butter gives, but honestly, I loved it. It wasn’t quite as thick as the peanut butter version so I would suggest upping the cornstarch to 2 1/2 or 3 tablespoons if you are leaving out the peanut butter. Remember to let it boil and bubble (stirring constantly!) for a good 2-3 minutes to help it get as thick as possible. It will still be slightly runny when pouring into a bowl but will thicken up considerably upon chilling.

The pudding is already egg-, dairy- and gluten-free. For my peanut-free friends, try subbing in soy butter or sun butter for the peanut butter. As noted above in the post, I couldn't resist trying a non-peanut butter version today (2/22/14) since many of you asked about it. Here's the result: the cooked and chilled pudding without the peanut butter was really good! It was definitely missing that element of creaminess the peanut butter gives, but honestly, I loved it. It wasn't quite as thick as the peanut butter version so I would suggest upping the cornstarch to 2 1/2 or 3 tablespoons if you are leaving out the peanut butter. Remember to let it boil and bubble (stirring constantly!) for a good 2-3 minutes to help it get as thick as possible. It will still be slightly runny when pouring into a bowl but will thicken up considerably upon chilling.

Ingredients

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa powder (Dutch-process or natural, unsweetened)

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 cups dark chocolate almond milk

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter (see note)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sliced bananas for serving, optional

Directions

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder and cornstarch. Slowly pour in the almond milk and whisk to combine.

Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the pudding begins to bubble. Cook two minutes longer (while it boils and bubbles). The mixture will be thick but pourable and will set up more while it chills.

Take the saucepan off the heat and whisk in the peanut butter and vanilla.

Pour the pudding into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly to the surface to avoid a skin forming. Refrigerate until well-chilled, 3-4 hours.

Serve with sliced bananas (optional). I also sometimes sprinkle chopped Toblerone bars on top, too. Just because I can...and it's amazing.

I love the Mel originals — they are the best! I’m making your No-Bake Nutella Cheesecakes for company after church on Sunday so this will have to wait just a little while to try. Since you can’t have too much chocolate and peanut butter, probably I will put it on the rotation for next week. 🙂

This is why I love you, Mel…half of our family is dairy free, and one is egg free. If you say it’s good, it MUST be. I just happen to have some chocolate almond milk in my fridge, so this is going on our snow day (second one this week!) list of things to do!

I’m happy this is my grocery shopping day, and I can add chocolate almond milk to my list. That means I can taste chocolate almond milk today and make the pudding this weekend! Thanks again for the wonderful recipes you share with us!

Oh Mel, you’re killing me! This looks soooo good, but I had to point out that for your “nut-free friends”, the peanut butter is not the problem. Peanuts are a legume, so it’s actually the almond milk that is a no-can-do in the nut-free world. My oldest with the allergy leaves for college this Fall, so I’ll have to put this recipe in the “to try when he is gone” file!! I’m sure I’ll be swooning and singing your blessings over this one come late September 🙂

This may be a silly question, but does the pudding have a strong almond taste? I wasn’t sure how almond-y it would be with the addition of the chocolate flavor and the peanut butter. I drink almond milk for the increased calcium, and usually buy the vanilla, which masks the almond flavor a bit. I love raw almonds, but for some reason do not love the unflavored almond milk.

Anna – yep, I’ve been sufficiently corrected (and wisely so!). I swear I know the difference but my brain must have been a bit muddled when typing out the post. I’m grateful for those of you who pointed it out to me! I’ve updated the post a bit so as not to lead anyone else astray. 🙂

Hey Miss Tami – let me know what you think about this one. You might want to increase the cornstarch just slightly if you want it super thick. It’s definitely thick and creamy but I don’t want you to end up with runny pudding. 🙂

Costco just had samples of chocolate almond milk. I couldn’t bring myself to buy any since if I wanted chocolate milk I could just squirt some Nesquick into a glass of plain ol’ milk. This post will definitely have me buying some Chocolate almond milk. My girls loved the sample in the store too – Bonus!

Jennifer – definitely worth a try. I can’t see why it wouldn’t work although just based on the fact that the level of sweetness/chocolate flavor is different with each type of chocolate milk, you may need to adjust the sugar. Good luck if you try it!

YUM!! I too love the chocolate almond milk! Worked up calories on this one just to be aware and if there are 5 servings, each one is about 190 calories. Definitely do-able for a week-night treat!! Can’t wait to try it! 🙂

My son was egg free dairy free for a year and a half. He’s back on dairy but still off eggs. Even so, I still love and collect the ‘free’ recipes just because when we had to pull him off I had NOTHING to go on. I had to throw out most our recipes and start over. I don’t want to have to do that again.

So say one doesn’t have the almond milk on hand and set person can’t run to the store today but desires to make such a delightful dessert could you use just make your own chocolate milk? And same measurements?

Looks yummy! By the way…. I have a friend with a nut allergy but does eat almonds…..yes, peanuts are legumes so safe for her & she did not realize she could eat almonds until she was an adult. Her dr. informed her that almonds are from the peach family. So those deprived all their lives might want to check it out!

For those allergic to nut milks, bigger grocery stores usually carry hemp, oat, and rice milks. They would work just fine. Mmmm..dark chocolate coconut milk! Mel, if you haven’t tried that, I bet you’d love it too!

This sounds phenomenal. Silk Dark Chocolate Almond milk is simply the best. I just bought some earlier today at Walmart. I make a great chocolate chia pudding with it but Mel’s pudding recipe sounds great. I’m going to give this a try tomorrow!

This looks delicious but I’m a little put-off by the peanut butter. Although I love peanut butter, I’m not a big fan of it in desserts. Does the flavor of the peanut butter come through? If so, can it be omitted or substituted for something else without changing the creaminess or fullness of the pudding? I’m always looking for new puddings and custards and would love to try the almond milk but don’t really want the peanut buttery flavor.

Hi Robin – several others have asked about leaving out the peanut butter. The PB flavor is definitely apparent so if you don’t want to use it you can try omitting it. The pudding will be less thick, though, so you might want to increase the cornstarch just a little.

I made this today after commenting yesterday, and it is fabulous and so creamy. I used my good Williams-Sonoma italian dutch processed cocoa powder, which I reserve for a special treat, since it is expensive–I loved the dark, rich flavor. I was worried about a real almond flavor coming through, but it was really more chocolate/peanut butter. Such a great taste combination and very easy to make. Next time I will double the recipe so we can have enough for two days. How do you come up with these amazing creations? Thanks for a great winter pick-me-up treat!

Hi Mel-Just wanted to tell you that I made this pudding last night to have today and OMG it is BEYOND delicious. As luck would have it, I had purchased the dark chocolate almond milk earlier this week. My kids have been having a glass or two here and there. And while I do enjoy almond milk and it is a staple in our house, I never thought of making a pudding out if it! It is so rich and creamy and the addition of the peanut butter has such a depth of flavor without being overly peanut-buttery. Divine!!! Can’t say enough good things about it. Thank you for sharing this recipe. It will become one I make frequently!

Hi Mel – I”m curious how you think this compares to your other chocolate pudding recipe? I was already planning on making pudding this coming week and just trying to decide which recipe to use 🙂 I’m guessing this is lower calories….?

Nicole – both are really delicious. This one has a bit of a different texture and I guess I love both for different reasons. I haven’t calculated the nutrition info, but yes, this one is most likely less calories and fat, especially if you leave out the peanut butter.

Hey everyone – I couldn’t resist trying a non-peanut butter version today (2/22/14) since many of you asked about it. Here’s the result: the cooked and chilled pudding without the peanut butter was really good! It was definitely missing that element of creaminess the peanut butter gives, but honestly, I loved it. It wasn’t quite as thick as the peanut butter version so I would suggest upping the cornstarch to 2 1/2 or 3 tablespoons if you are leaving out the peanut butter. Remember to let it boil and bubble (stirring constantly!) for a good 2-3 minutes to help it get as thick as possible. It will still be slightly runny when pouring into a bowl but will thicken up considerably upon chilling. I’ve updated the recipe with those notes!

Wondering what brand of cornstarch you use. Most of what’s can find easily is not gluten free. This would be a perfect dessert for a dinner party as one of our friends is gluten egg and dairy free it I would need to be able to source gluten free cornstarch.

Okay, I think I live in a smaller little town than you–if you can believe it, and my one small grocery store had this milk! I am excited to make it and have it tonight for FHE treats! Thanks Mel! You rock!

This looks pretty amazing! My husband is fairly lactose intolerant, my brother in law is vegan and one of my best friends is allergic to soy, eggs and dairy, so this will be a real winner.
Something to try for the people who are concerned about peanut butter flavor, but still want the creaminess: how about Nutella? More or less the same consistency, and I find that it tastes more like chocolate than anything else. -Jif also does a chocolate/hazelnut/espresso spread (essentially an espresso Nutella) which is kind of great if you like a little coffee with your chocolate 🙂

You did this just for me, didn’t you? My mouth started watering the minute I saw the photo and saw no dairy. I did a little change and used honey instead of sugar and it turned out delish.
Thank you for looking out for us vegans and those with allergies.

Thank you so much for introducing me to the world of chocolate almond milk! I’ve bought 2 cartons already with the intention of making this recipe, but both times ended up drinking it all before having the chance to make pudding; it’s just that good. Hopefully, third times the charm 🙂

This was really good! I usually try and sub low fat milk in pudding recipes, and then they don’t thicken up well. This, however was so thick and creamy! My whole family loved it! We put some chopped up peanut butter cups on top to make it even a little more chocolate/peanutbuttery…yum! Thanks Mel!

Mel! I’ll be honest I didn’t read through all the comments on this, so someone may have already recommended this. BUT, you MUST try this dark chocolate almond milk heated up! It’s the creamiest most delicious hot chocolate ever! I buy this same brand and flavor, I love it! Can’t wait to try the pudding! 🙂

Hi Mel- I made this just now. It is still hot but I tasted it from the spoon and it was delish!
-can’t wait till it cools. I found the milk on sale this am while shopping,, and it was in the back of my mind that I wanted to try this. It will be so nice to have a somewhat healthier dessert. I’m guilty of “The Famous Box” pudding, but I know it is just a witch’s brew of chemicals that aren’t that good for us and give it a commercial taste. My cooking just keeps on improving, Thanks to You!

I’ve tried this three ways now – with Kirkland Natural Peanut Butter, with Skippy Creamy, and with no peanut butter. The winner for me is Skippy. The natural peanut butter has a slight grit to it that affects “mouth feel” of the pudding. The no-peanut butter version is good, but the Skippy version is a game-changer. We’re having crepes for dessert tonight, and I’m offering both the skippy and no- peanut butter versions as fillings. Bon appetit!

I am glad you shared this with us & I am loving your allergy free recipe tab.I just got diagnosed with a dairy allergy last year and it has been a struggle to cook dairy free for me while still allowing my family to enjoy their old favorites. I can’t wait to try this! Indulgences like this help me to not feel deprived.

Made this tonight for company and it was UNBELIEVABLE! First of all, it could not be easier to make. I really don’t think the box mix is any easier. And, the taste cannot be beaten. Super creamy, super chocolatey, super rich. I used almond butter in place of the peanut butter b/c we have a peanut allergy in the family and I really loved it. Recipe doubled nicely and serving it with banana slices is a perfect accompaniment. So delicious, Mel!

Holy cow! I tried this tonight and it is amazing! I wasn’t sure I wanted a peanut butter chocolate pudding, so I left out the peanut butter and used 3Tbs of cornstarch and it thickened beautifully (actually, I doubled the recipe). I usually shop at a small military commissary where they don’t carry the dark chocolate almond milk, so I went out of my way to find some for this recipe and boy, am I glad I did! I prefer stove-top pudding to boxed instant pudding and I liked not having to use egg yolks in this recipe. I also admit that I like the pudding skin that forms on the top, so I’ve let it chill in the fridge without a cover. Additionally, I’m allergic to all fruit (raw or cooked), so I’ll be leaving the bananas off the top (though they look fantastic). I’ll try the peanut butter version of this at some point, but count me as a permanent fan of the chocolate-only version of this! Thanks for posting!

I’ve actually made this chocolate-free a few times (in addition to the many, many times as written). I used the original unsweetened almond milk (which has less than 1g sugar, compared to the 17g in the dark choc milk) and upped the peanut butter (I use the natural kind) to 1/2 cup. Obviously it has less sugar than the original recipe, but I found that without the “bite” of the dark chocolate flavor, the pudding is plenty sweet without upping the sugar (although you could, if you like). My littles and hubby loved it, as did the in-laws. PS. You can also put this in a crust to make pudding pie! (I like graham cracker for that.) 🙂

Thank you so much for this recipe! My daughter is gluten intolerant and had to have chocolate pudding with oreos for dinosaur day at school. I actually made this with chocolate hazelnut milk, since my husband has an almond allergy. It was fantastic! Now we are all eating this with bananas and gluten free “oreos”. You made my daughters day!

Thank you for a great recipe. My grandson is severely allergic to dairy and eggs. I had just purchased a half gallon of chocolate almond milk, and wondered if it was possible to use it to make pudding. I followed your recipe without nut butter and used 2 1/2 Tbs. of cornstarch. At the end of the cooking time, I added a couple of tsps. of Earth Balance vegetable spread. I found it added a little bit of extra body and smoothness to the pudding. It turned out beautifully!

I just made this last night and loved it. However, it seemed to have a weird grainy texture to it. Might that be because of the peanut butter? Also, mine was fabulous but my husband was complaining about chunks in his. I finally got a big one at the end. I’d love to try making this again but hesitate to have it turn out bad again.

Hi Michelle – did you use natural peanut butter? That might contribute to the graininess – I usually use a traditional creamy PB for this recipe (like Jif). Also, the chunks are probably there if the pudding was cooked at too high of a heat. You might try lowering the heat on the stove and cooking it more slowly (and you can always strain the pudding after cooking through a fine mesh strainer after to get rid of any hard bits).

I made this tonight with the help of my 5 year old daughter, who is allergic to dairy, egg, and almond. We substituted with chocolate soy milk and skipped the peanut butter because I was in a hurry and hate measuring out PB. It was very close in color and consistency, and even flavor, to the boxed Jello pudding I made for the rest of the kids. (I’ll skip that next time and just make a bigger batch of this!) We made dirt cups with the traditional gummy worm. I’ve never made pudding before, but this was amazingly good and SO easy! My little girl had her first experience with pudding, and I’m so bappy! Thank you for posting this!!

I just made the pudding, using regular (not dark) chocolate milk and creamy almond butter in lieu of peanut butter. I only tasted it while warm, but it’s delicious!. My grandson is severely allergic to dairy and eggs, but not nuts, so this is perfect! He loves Keebler’s graham cracker pie crust, and the recipe makes almost enough to fill it. I was thinking it would be good topped with fresh raspberries or even cherry pie filling. I’m letting it cool while he’s in pre-school, but I predict it’s going to be a hit!

This tasted and looked great! Everything happened thickening-wise just as the recipe said. Thanks for sharing.

Note to others: I didn’t have chocolate almond milk and don’t like a lot of sugar in my stuff so I used my slightly sweetened (5g of sugar) organic plain almond milk and some dark chocolate cocoa powder and it worked great! It even looked the same color as the picture. Keep in mind, I don’t like my stuff as sweet as most do so if you are wanting to use plain almond milk instead of chocolate almond milk, add some more cocoa powder and sweetness.

Also, I used coconut sugar instead of regular sugar and that worked fine. 🙂

Thanks again for the terrific recipe! Love that it is a healthy and cool treat. 🙂

I just made this for my egg and dairy allergy child, of course he will have to share with the rest of us. It’s in the fridge setting up. I am super excited about this, as I could use a Graham cracker crust and some coconut milk whipped cream, which is yummy, and make a pie that he could have! Thanks!

Hello!
Thanks for the recipe , its looks awesome!
I just have a question. Do you know if the corn starch can me replace for other ingredient? or, It is possible not to use it at all?
I would really appreciate if you could help me with that doubt.
Best of luck!
Thanks!

This was the perfect way to use up some of my almond milk! I only had the plain unsweetened kind, so I increased the cocoa to 3 tablespoons. Later, as I was stirring it, I thought it didn’t smell chocolatey enough, so I threw in about 1/3 bag of semisweet chocolate chips along with the peanut butter at the end. I also didn’t have cornstarch, so I used 3 tablespoons of flour instead, and it thickened beautifully (the peanut butter also helps with that). The pudding is delicious, and I will definitely be making it again. Thanks so much, Mel!